


The littlest soldier in the troop

by AChildOfTheEye



Series: Boss adopts Eugene as a baby [4]
Category: Underworld Office (Visual Novel)
Genre: Gen, i love them, i loved writing this, main crew met Lotus, time for a bit of agedup Lotus later on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:40:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28200033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AChildOfTheEye/pseuds/AChildOfTheEye
Summary: Maybe Lotus wasn't going to be that much of a sidetrack for the underworld office.ORJoan meets baby Eugene.
Relationships: Eugene & Joan, Eugene & River, Joan & Boss, Joan & River, River & Boss, River & OC, eugene & Boss
Series: Boss adopts Eugene as a baby [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2062002
Comments: 1
Kudos: 68





	The littlest soldier in the troop

It was midday when Boss and River left. Well, moreso River being dragged out by Boss. She was making a fuss, loudly cussing at the parents of Lotus, who have only arrived a few minutes ago.  
"River," Boss started, letting her go finally as soon as they were a bit away. "It is not our duty to step between their parents and them and their care. Ghosts cannot-"

"Ghosts cannot intervene with mortal affairs, I know! But that's a baby, Boss! That's a baby they aren't taking care of! We had to feed Lotus! And they didn't even have proper bottles for them!" River yelled. Boss just sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He knew it was frustrating. He felt it, bubbling under his skin, anger pushing up against his throat, threatening to make him turn around and punish the parents right then and there, but he kept his composure.

"River. We can continue meeting Lotus, and make sure their parents are there, but we must not intervene. This, already, is causing a lot of trouble. I'm sure Joan and Damien would like for us to return already." He said, voice calm and even. Even as River gave an aggrovated yell, he kept his face even. He just turned and headed back, knowing River is following.

It was fairly silent as they headed back. Daytime had already sucked a lot of their energy try, and Boss felt tired for what had seemed like life times. It felt... Surprisingly nice. The draw of his non-existant bones, the droop of his eyelids. Just like old times.  
River broke the silence halfway back. "What... Are we going to do with the kid, Boss? We can't just.... Leave them there like that. They'll die. Do we just... Keep visiting them? And hope their parents will be there?"

Boss sighed, knowing they're stuck between continues activity with Lotus and leaving them to their parents. The latter left a horrible taste in his mouth. He couldn't leave a baby alone. Especially with neglectful parents like theirs. He can't keep neglecting his job, too.  
He's been spending far too much time with Lotus, and he knew it. He's been spending a lot of time trying to stack up kindness, but... Wouldn't this be an act of kindness, too? To help a child in need and protect and provide for them in some capacity? But that'd be difficult.

But who cares? This is a child. Boss knows there are many more who aren't fortunate enough to have what Lotus could have, to have someone to turn to, to have silent protection and a silent provider. It seemed like his decision was set in stone from the beginning, as he felt sure and confident in his decision. He looked at River, giving her a small smile that he's sure she can't see.

"We'll keep visiting. But we should consult Joan and Damien about this. If we're going to do this, and take care of Lotus, we will need back up. Plus, I'm sure Joan would love being able to take care of a baby, too. Not... Quite sure about Damien, though. We may have to coerce him into coming with us sometime." Boss explained as they got to the station staircase. They headed down, avoiding most people again.

"Hell yeah! I'll talk to him, and you can handle Joan. She respects you a lot more than she does me." River chuckled, finally fully calming down from her anger towards Lotus' parents.  
"I'm sure she respects you the same amount, River." Boss said, letting her go first into the attendance's office, following after her.

The office was the same old as yesterday, but the backroom door was open. Nothing very usual, but it was quite a surprise seeing Joan and Damien there already, chatting among themselves, most likely waiting for Boss and River.  
"Good evening." Boss said, listening to River already go and tackle Damien with a gleeful yell. 

"Boss." Joan greeted, standing up from her seat. River and Damien pulled him through a wall, most likely to find a quiet place to talk and persuade him to go along with Boss and River to visit Lotus every night.  
"I'm taking you and River were quite busy with your patrolling?" She asked, chuckling as she walked over to Boss. "Well, you could say that, ma'am." He said, keeping his voice even as he walked out of the backroom, Joan following behind him.

"Back in my day, you'd be home as soon as your shift was over, young man." Joan scolded lightly, a smile on her face. Boss only chuckled at that, folding his arms behind his back, walking slowly along with Joan, enjoying the walk already. "Yes, ma'am, I know. But it was important."

"How so?" Joan questioned, looking up at him. Boss hesitated to answer, feeling the anger bubble back up under his skin. He cleared his throat, looking down at her. "I... Found a child. I've nicknamed them Lotus for the time being, as their legal name is not... Fitting. River and I have decided to keep visiting them, as their parents aren't... Adequate, let's just say." He explained, keeping his gaze forwards now.

"I wish to have you on our side for this. We won't be able to keep them safe properly if it's just the two of us, and River and I aren't very fit to be caretakers, so could you do me the favour of coming with me and River tonight to visit them again. You can decline if you wish to, but I assure you, you'll love Lotus." Boss finished, taking a deep breath through his nose before looking back at Joan, keeping his face neutral to not give the hope away.

Joan was silent, her cane tapping against the ground as she walked. She looked up at him, stopping alongside him. "Because you asked so nicely, I'll come visit the sweet pea with you. If you care so much about a stranger's kid, they're sure something to see. Just make sure you get enough rest today. You were out way past your curfew, young man." Joan said, laughing rasply at the look Boss gave her.  
Boss shook his head lightly, smiling. "Thank you, ma'am. We should head back. I'm sure River is talking Damien's ears off, and I'd rather not have him be mad at her before we even leave for patrol tonight."

They found River and Damien play wrestling when they got back. Joan scolded them almost immediately, smacking their ankles gently when they seperated. Boss only watched, knowing Joan wouldn't actually hurt them if it wasn't for fun. It was nice being with them. Like a small family of his own, but not blood related. What a crazy idea.

\-----

The night was young when they set out. Well, the sun wasn't even quite set. It was River's eagerness to set out. She wanted to play with Lotus more. It seemed like she wasn't the only one to draw fondess to the child way too quickly. At least she liked them.

Joan walked beside them, River chatting quite enthusiastically with Boss, as he only nodded and hummed for her to keep going. It was usually like that with River. Not that he minded. Quite the opposite, actually. He enjoyed listening to her talk about anything. It was like listening to his littlest sister ramble on about what she had learned at school that day.

He missed her. He didn't dwell on it, though. He's had plenty of time for regrets, today was not the day to relive some of them. Instead, he focused on the city again. Cars still buzzed by sometimes, though it was obvious it was getting more and more sparse as the night slowly crawled over the city. It was... Surprisingly calming. He could only compare it to late nights by the lake by his old home.

He remembered the cool water, his feet dipped into it, sharing a drink with his older brother. The night being warm and comfortable from the day's earlier summer heat. His yukata wasn't too uncomfortable then. It's just a shame he outgrew that yukata a year later. The kimono he was wearing currently.... It was comfortable. At least it didn't have the hole that his original kimono had. That would be annoying.  
Boss hadn't even realized they were by the building. He did realize as soon as River sped off, floating upwards with Boss' arm in her hand. "Come on! I wanna see Lotus! I'm sure they've missed us!" She said, pulling at him to hurry up.

When they got to the apartment, it was empty. Again. Not a surprise, but it stung. Instead, Boss made sure River waited for Joan before going off to greet Lotus.

He found them propped against their cradle again, staring at the door. He must be crazy. They wouldn't have known that they were there. Unless they were waiting for a while?  
He shook it off, smiling lightly as he went over and picked them back up, which got him a happy coo and gurgle. He held them close, smile resting on his face as he rocked gently side to side.

River followed soon after, letting out a happy yell when Lotus reached out for her, too. Boss couldn't help but laugh, gently handling the infant to River, who fake threw them up, making them giggle and laugh almost uncontrollably. Almost immediately, River was cooing and playing with the baby, holding them close and cooing half incoherent sentences, which Boss could only assume were compliments and questions, as she bobbed her head slightly to make Lotus mimic her, which they did, doing it quite happily.

Joan walked into the room a second later, taking in the sight of a human child happily laughing and giggling while in River's arms, reaching for her hair with delighted screams of laughter. She chuckled, walking over to Boss. "I checked if anyone is home, and no one is. The sweet pea have any family?" She asked. Boss nodded, looking at the small child who seemed oh so occupied with pulling at River's roots.

"They do. Just not particularly good ones. We'll handle them, though. Take care of them as long as we can." He sighed, going over to River to gently take the baby from her and go back over to Joan.  
He crouched down, holding Lotus in a way so they can look at Joan. They gurgled, reaching their hands out to try and grab at Joan, a smile on their face. "This is Joan, Lotus." Boss stated, gently lowering his head onto theirs. "She'll be here with us from time to time. She's nice. Say hello." He said, voice soft and quiet as they squirmed happily in his hold.

Joan chuckled, giving them one of her hands. They grabbed at her hand immediately, small hands tangling into her bigger fingers. She just smiled down at Lotus, gently wriggling her fingers to draw a high pitched laugh from them.

They'll get along.

**Author's Note:**

> i love  
> them  
> SO  
> much


End file.
